Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones did thorough pre-NFL Draft investigation of Sam Williams
Two days before the 2022 NFL Draft, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones declared to the world that he had turned over a new leaf regarding players with character concerns or red flags.
“That type of thing, that decision on off-the-field issues, I’m probably a little more conservative than I was 15 years ago,’‘ Jones said.
Of course, his statement came while defending the team’s handling of cornerback Kelvin Joseph, a 2021 second-round pick who remains on the team despite being connected to a Dallas police investigation into a fatal drive-by shooting in March.
Naturally, the Cowboys continued their tradition of taking risks in the second round in the 2022 NFL Draft with their pick of Mississippi edge rusher Sam Williams.
Williams was suspended at Ole Miss in July 2020 after being charged with sexual battery. He was reinstated two months later after the charge was dropped.
“It was the past,” Williams said. “Obviously, I didn’t do anything. It’s a new life and a new start ahead of me in a new area with great coaches and teammates. I got another shot at life. That is not me. That is not the person I am. I am ready to go to work. I just think about what is next.”
Chargers dropped or not.
The arrest was a red flag for Williams when it came to the NFL Draft.
Williams is a first-round talent who likely dropped to the second round because of character concerns.
At 6-foot-4, 261 pounds, Williams is extremely athletic for a pass-rusher, including his 4.46 time in the 40 and a 36-inch vertical leap.
Williams had six starts in 2020 before blowing up in 2021 with 57 tackles, 15 tackles for losses and a school-record 12.5 sacks. He was a first-team All-SEC selection.
Talent generally rules the day when the Cowboys have taken risks on players on the second round, whether it was defensive end Randy Gregory who dropped out of the first round in 2015 due to failed drug tests or linebacker Jaylon Smith who dropped out of the first round in 2016 due to a knee injury.
And they are smitten with Williams’ ability to rush the passer and dominate on defense.
“A pass rusher is a premium. A pressure player is a premium,” Jones said. “First and foremost, he’s a terrific player and a potential terrific pro as a player. He has a lot of energy, a lot of personality. We think that is a real positive for his play as well as the people around him. He brings a lot to the table. We thoroughly investigated those allegations and are completely satisfied that those are well within our comfort level.”
Cowboys did homework on Williams
Jones reiterated that Williams’ case “was aired out real good there at Ole Miss”. And he was allowed to rejoin the team after the charges were dropped.
The Cowboys spent a lot of time talking to people close to Williams as well, Jones said.
“You have a lot more than just Sam wanting him to be a great NFL and Cowboy football player,” Jones said. “He’s got a lot of great people that are on his team that are really, high-quality people. Substantive people. You’re getting a really good package with Sam in my mind.”
The Cowboys went to Williams’ Pro Day at Mississippi where defensive coordinator Dan Quinn worked him out personally.
Coach Mike McCarthy attended the pro day as well. He talked to former Cowboys defensive coordinator Monte Kiffen, who is a coaching analyst at Mississippi, about him and came away impressed.
“Frankly, seeing how he interacted with everybody. Whether it was teammates, and how everybody went to bat for him, then also having him come in on a 30 visit,” McCarthy said. “Sam made a big impression on all of us. The thing I appreciated the most is his honesty, the vulnerability that he expressed going through his history. If we were just talking about pure football, the work that he did on the field and the video that he put together during his career there in the SEC, I think that speaks for itself.”
Williams knows that he will be judged by the allegation but he believes he got another shot at life. He said he is not going to let the incident determine the type of person he is or put a label on him.
Williams came from rough background
Besides has already overcome worse situations due his rough background and being born into a broken home in Birmingham, Alabama. He was removed from his mother’s custody at the age of six and was taken in by his maternal grandmother, who died a few years later. He bounced around living with different family members before eventually moving in with one of his high school classmates’ family outside of Montgomery.
“It made me into the man I am today. I’m grateful,” Williams said of his upbringing. “Some people that have never been through nothing, they don’t know how to appreciate things, I believe, and I appreciate every day. I had a friend growing up that is not here today. I just have another chance of life everyday that I wake up, so I appreciate it.
“The things I’ve been through, the upbringing I had, nine times out of ten, people don’t make it where I am. I guess I was one of the lucky ones. Well, I say I’m blessed, but other people can say I’m the lucky one. I’m grateful. I’m thankful. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s just a blessing that I’m here.”
Williams said having a one-year old son has changed his life and promises that his upbringing won’t be a generational curse on his son.
“I never had a dad,” Williams said. “I’ll start off by saying that. I had father figures in my life, but there’s nobody like your biological dad. When I had my son, I made a promise to him and myself that he’ll never go through what I went through.”
Jones understands what he said about red flags but he is confident that they are not taking a risk on Williams.
He believes players of today are more scrutinized than those of the past because of social media and social issues that weren’t around years ago.
“It has caused everyone to sharpen your evaluation of just exactly where and how this young man has gotten here,” Jones said. “I mentioned that I don’t take the risks that I took early. One of the reasons is that I don’t have to. The risk, or the kinds of things that you might have been looking for 20 or 30 years ago, you’re not even turning the lights on if you don’t look for that.
“ I’m confident that we know about the young man coming in here, that we’ve covered the ground and we’ve got it all out there. After having seen it all out there, we drafted Sam, and I’m confident we got everything.”
